Injinji Performance Travel Toesocks

HANDOUT

What it is: Like gloves for your feet, these socks have individual "fingers" for your toes. The socks boast a fabric blend designed to wick away moisture and provide light overall compression while discouraging odor with anti-microbial properties. Plus, the toes are designed to let your foot function in a more natural manner. How it works: The intent is to provide comfort and promote circulation in the traveling foot. I found that the socks do provide for individual toe movement to a degree I didn't think possible inside a shoe. I assumed it was the shoe that prevented toes from moving individually, but I could feel the toes moving within the shoe, obviously improving balance and walking comfort. The good: I road-tested these in an unusual way, with a torrid eight games of bowling within two hours. Due to fatigue factors, I had never gone beyond four games in one outing, but I'm crediting the socks with keeping me on the lane until my arm finally gave out. Normally sweat would have become a factor with the feet in that amount of time, but there was no problem. What's more, even at rest, the toe "fingers" in the socks tend to make you want to wiggle your toes within your shoes. That would be helpful in promoting blood circulation in the lower extremities for long hours on a plane or train. The bad: My guess is that anyone would benefit by wearing these, but older people especially, who might be at higher risk for deep-vein thrombosis on a long flight, are likely to have more trouble putting them on without assistance. Even for a younger person, it takes a while to thread the toes into their respective tubes. Too, it takes a while to adjust to having fabric between the toes, but there is a reward once you acclimate. Cost: $24 suggested retail, plus shipping, but shipping is free to REI stores. Available from: injinji.com. --Ross Werland

What it is: Like gloves for your feet, these socks have individual "fingers" for your toes. The socks boast a fabric blend designed to wick away moisture and provide light overall compression while discouraging odor with anti-microbial properties. Plus, the toes are designed to let your foot function in a more natural manner. How it works: The intent is to provide comfort and promote circulation in the traveling foot. I found that the socks do provide for individual toe movement to a degree I didn't think possible inside a shoe. I assumed it was the shoe that prevented toes from moving individually, but I could feel the toes moving within the shoe, obviously improving balance and walking comfort. The good: I road-tested these in an unusual way, with a torrid eight games of bowling within two hours. Due to fatigue factors, I had never gone beyond four games in one outing, but I'm crediting the socks with keeping me on the lane until my arm finally gave out. Normally sweat would have become a factor with the feet in that amount of time, but there was no problem. What's more, even at rest, the toe "fingers" in the socks tend to make you want to wiggle your toes within your shoes. That would be helpful in promoting blood circulation in the lower extremities for long hours on a plane or train. The bad: My guess is that anyone would benefit by wearing these, but older people especially, who might be at higher risk for deep-vein thrombosis on a long flight, are likely to have more trouble putting them on without assistance. Even for a younger person, it takes a while to thread the toes into their respective tubes. Too, it takes a while to adjust to having fabric between the toes, but there is a reward once you acclimate. Cost: $24 suggested retail, plus shipping, but shipping is free to REI stores. Available from: injinji.com. --Ross Werland